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Latest Player Rankings News

With Week 1 behind us, it’s time for my latest Big Ten Player Rankings. Again, I’m doing these a little different this year. Whereas I used to rank the top 10 players – a practice that was tough due to all the talent on both sides of the ball – I’ll rank the top six offensive and defensive players each week.

Big Ten media days kick off Thursday in Chicago, so I thought I’d release my preseason Big Ten player rankings. I’m going to do these a little different this year. In previous years, I’d rank the top 10 players, which often became a tough task with all the talent on both sides of the ball. To account for both sides, I’ll rank the top six offensive and defensive players each week.

The best player in the Big Ten? It has been a moving target for much of the season. Several players have occupied the top spot. In what has been the Year of the Running Back, it’s no surprise that a ball carrier tops this week’s edition of the Top 25 Players in the Big Ten.

When it comes to consistent greatness, Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson has set the pace all season. From the season opener vs. UNLV, when Wilson hit 10-of-13 passes for 255 and two scores, to last Saturday, when he connected on 16-of-17 passes for 177 and four touchdowns, Wilson has been a study in weekly greatness.

The Iowa running has surged to the top of my Big Ten player rankings. The star sophomore has rattled off four straight 100-yard, two-touchdown rushing games (121, 2 vs. Northwestern; 138, 2 vs. Indiana; 252, 2 vs. Minnesota; 132, 2 vs. Michigan). He literally carried Iowa to victory on Saturday over Michigan, pushing him to a Big Ten-leading 1,101 yards rushing (122.3 ypg). The 230-pound Marcus Coker just may carry the Hawkeyes all the way to the Legends Division title. See Tom’s full top 25 list in this post.

The Big Ten is loaded with many good running backs (see the stats). In fact, it may be the deepest position in the conference. So, it should be no surprise that Penn State’s Silas Redd has taken over the No. 1 spot in my weekly ranking of the Top 25 players in the Big Ten.

The Big Ten is loaded with standout players on both sides of the ball. There’s Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus, Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff, Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David and Michigan State wide receiver B.J. Cunningham, who joined The Next Level on Tuesday night. Watch the interview now.

Throughout the football season, Brent Yarina ranks his top 10 Big Ten players following the completion of each week’s action. Top 10 lists are subjective, to be sure, and this one is no different. That said, this weekly list is designed to reflect Brent’s top talents in the conference, taking into consideration the players’ overall statistics, latest performances and importance to their teams. Think of it as his unofficial leader board for Big Ten MVP. See Brent’s Week 8 Player Rankings in this post.

Six games in, six games to go. We officially reached the midway point of the 2011 college football season following the completion of Saturday’s slate of games. It’s been an eventful first half, for sure, as Illinois and Michigan are off to surprising 6-0 starts and perennial power Ohio State is 3-3, including 0-2 in Big Ten play. And we can’t forget to mention Wisconsin, the Big Ten’s clear favorite after humiliating its first five foes by a combined score of 242-51. Seeing as how we’re halfway home, I wanted to rank the conference’s top 10 players thus far. See the list in this post.